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Death knell sounds for bustling town of Hanover [Montana]. Howard Richards, Sr. remembers its better days.

DEATH KNELL SOUNDS FOR BUSTLING TOWN OF HANOVER
(12-19-71)
By
Roberta Donovan
"lt was pretty nice at one time but I guess everything has to die sometimes."
Howard Richards, Sr., spoke philosophically about the little town of Hanover, nine miles
northwest of Lewistown, where he had spent most of his life. Richards was one of the
last residents to leave Hanover before the company town was demolished, recently.
The cement and plaster plants and the gypsum mine and lime quarry that led to
the establishment of the town in the early part of this century closed several years ago.
It was decided by ldeal Cement Co., owner of the property, that rather than let the
property deteriorate further, it would be taken down. The plants, the homes -
everything was to go and the rubble buried under a foot of soil so that no sign of the
community remained. Work started on the demolition earlier this fall and was to be
completed in January or February.
For the most of this century Hanover was a friendly and attractive little
community, set high on the hill across the valley from the cement plant. Stucco houses,
tree-lines streets and a quiet atmosphere, marked this little village where the men who
worked in the plants and mines made their home.
Richards came to the area to work in 1919, about five years after the plaster
plant was built. lt was his first job fresh out of the service, following World War l. For
about six years he worked in the lime quarry at the top of the mountain overlooking the
plant. He and his wife lived in the company town but it was a long way - two and a half
miles up the mountain, so Richards talked the superintendent J. C. Capper, into letting
him and his wife move into a two room house near the quarry. There was also a
bunkhouse nearby for the single men who worked at the quarry.
The view from the top of the mountain was tremendous. "You could see for well
over a hundred miles - the Bearpaws, the Highwood Mountains," Richards said. They
were still living at the top of the mountain when it came time for their first son, Howard,
Jr., (Bud) to be born. Richards had planned to ask one of the few men in the
community who had a car, a man named Mitchell, to drive him and his wife to
Lewistown for the birth, but it had been raining several days, the dirt roads were now
vast stretches of mud and Mitchell declined. The baby was born at home. Later on two
younger children joined the family - a son, Jess, and daughter, Lola Belle, whose last
name is now MacPhail.
A tram line was used to carry the lime from the quarry at the top of the mountain,
to the cement plant below. Bucket to carry the ore were suspended from an overhead
cable. On the return trip up the mountain the miners sometimes rode in the deep iron
buckets. One late fall day, Richards recalls, his sister was visiting them and Mrs.
Richards decided to walk with her back down the mountain to the town. A sudden
blizzard struck shortly after the two women reached Hanover and Mrs. Richards was
stranded.
Since it was impossible for her to walk back up the mountain in the storm, some
of the men decided to send her back up in one of the tram buckets. One fellow loaned
her a coat and others wrapped her in a horse blanket to keep her warm on her trip
through the storm. Just as the bucket passed directly over the deepest coulee, where
the ground was about 326 feet below her, the tram stopped and she was suspended in
the air. The wind howled and the snow lashed her face as the bucket swayed on its
cable. Meanwhile, up at the top of the mountain, her husband got the word, "You better
keep your part of this going because your wife is on it."

Death knell sounds for bustling town of Hanover [Montana]. Howard Richards, Sr. remembers its better days.

Description

Article describes the town of Hanover which was a company town to house the workers for the Ideal Cement Company. Howard Richards worked in the lime quarry at the mine. The town, which was nine miles from Lewistown, Montana, was located across the highway from the mine.

DEATH KNELL SOUNDS FOR BUSTLING TOWN OF HANOVER
(12-19-71)
By
Roberta Donovan
"lt was pretty nice at one time but I guess everything has to die sometimes."
Howard Richards, Sr., spoke philosophically about the little town of Hanover, nine miles
northwest of Lewistown, where he had spent most of his life. Richards was one of the
last residents to leave Hanover before the company town was demolished, recently.
The cement and plaster plants and the gypsum mine and lime quarry that led to
the establishment of the town in the early part of this century closed several years ago.
It was decided by ldeal Cement Co., owner of the property, that rather than let the
property deteriorate further, it would be taken down. The plants, the homes -
everything was to go and the rubble buried under a foot of soil so that no sign of the
community remained. Work started on the demolition earlier this fall and was to be
completed in January or February.
For the most of this century Hanover was a friendly and attractive little
community, set high on the hill across the valley from the cement plant. Stucco houses,
tree-lines streets and a quiet atmosphere, marked this little village where the men who
worked in the plants and mines made their home.
Richards came to the area to work in 1919, about five years after the plaster
plant was built. lt was his first job fresh out of the service, following World War l. For
about six years he worked in the lime quarry at the top of the mountain overlooking the
plant. He and his wife lived in the company town but it was a long way - two and a half
miles up the mountain, so Richards talked the superintendent J. C. Capper, into letting
him and his wife move into a two room house near the quarry. There was also a
bunkhouse nearby for the single men who worked at the quarry.
The view from the top of the mountain was tremendous. "You could see for well
over a hundred miles - the Bearpaws, the Highwood Mountains" Richards said. They
were still living at the top of the mountain when it came time for their first son, Howard,
Jr., (Bud) to be born. Richards had planned to ask one of the few men in the
community who had a car, a man named Mitchell, to drive him and his wife to
Lewistown for the birth, but it had been raining several days, the dirt roads were now
vast stretches of mud and Mitchell declined. The baby was born at home. Later on two
younger children joined the family - a son, Jess, and daughter, Lola Belle, whose last
name is now MacPhail.
A tram line was used to carry the lime from the quarry at the top of the mountain,
to the cement plant below. Bucket to carry the ore were suspended from an overhead
cable. On the return trip up the mountain the miners sometimes rode in the deep iron
buckets. One late fall day, Richards recalls, his sister was visiting them and Mrs.
Richards decided to walk with her back down the mountain to the town. A sudden
blizzard struck shortly after the two women reached Hanover and Mrs. Richards was
stranded.
Since it was impossible for her to walk back up the mountain in the storm, some
of the men decided to send her back up in one of the tram buckets. One fellow loaned
her a coat and others wrapped her in a horse blanket to keep her warm on her trip
through the storm. Just as the bucket passed directly over the deepest coulee, where
the ground was about 326 feet below her, the tram stopped and she was suspended in
the air. The wind howled and the snow lashed her face as the bucket swayed on its
cable. Meanwhile, up at the top of the mountain, her husband got the word, "You better
keep your part of this going because your wife is on it."